U.S. patent application number 15/935987 was filed with the patent office on 2019-03-28 for methods and devices for producing biodiesel and products obtained therefrom.
This patent application is currently assigned to Renewable Energy Group, Inc.. The applicant listed for this patent is Renewable Energy Group, Inc.. Invention is credited to Bradley N. Albin, Jared A. Downey, Cody J. Ellens, David A. Slade, Derek J. Winkel.
Application Number | 20190093048 15/935987 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 52022708 |
Filed Date | 2019-03-28 |
United States Patent
Application |
20190093048 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Slade; David A. ; et
al. |
March 28, 2019 |
Methods and Devices for Producing Biodiesel and Products Obtained
Therefrom
Abstract
Methods and devices for economically producing a purified
biodiesel product from feedstocks. Some embodiments of the methods
comprise using at least one of a crude feedstock pretreatment
process and a free fatty acid refining process prior to
transesterification and the formation of crude biodiesel and
glycerin. The crude biodiesel is then subjected to at least one
biodiesel refining process which, in conjunction with feedstock
pretreatment and free fatty acid refining produces a purified
biodiesel product that meets multiple commercial specifications. A
wide variety of feedstocks may be used to make biodiesel that
otherwise would not meet the same commercial specifications,
including corn oil, used cooking oil, poultry fats, fatty acid
distillates, pennycress oil, and algal oils. The combination of
feedstock refining and biodiesel refining processes is necessary to
reduce problems associated with feedstocks having waxes, high free
fatty acid levels, unacceptable color, high unsaponifiables levels,
and high sulfur levels.
Inventors: |
Slade; David A.; (Ames,
IA) ; Ellens; Cody J.; (Ankeny, IA) ; Albin;
Bradley N.; (Ames, IA) ; Winkel; Derek J.;
(Ankeny, IA) ; Downey; Jared A.; (Ames,
IA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Renewable Energy Group, Inc. |
Ames |
IA |
US |
|
|
Assignee: |
Renewable Energy Group,
Inc.
Ames
IA
|
Family ID: |
52022708 |
Appl. No.: |
15/935987 |
Filed: |
March 26, 2018 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
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14897174 |
Dec 9, 2015 |
9957464 |
|
|
PCT/US14/41708 |
Jun 10, 2014 |
|
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15935987 |
|
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61833504 |
Jun 11, 2013 |
|
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
C10L 2200/0476 20130101;
C11C 3/003 20130101; Y02W 30/74 20150501; C11B 13/00 20130101; C12P
7/649 20130101; C10L 1/026 20130101; Y02E 50/10 20130101; C10L
2290/543 20130101; C10L 2270/026 20130101; C11C 1/10 20130101 |
International
Class: |
C11B 13/00 20060101
C11B013/00; C11C 1/10 20060101 C11C001/10; C10L 1/02 20060101
C10L001/02; C12P 7/64 20060101 C12P007/64; C11C 3/00 20060101
C11C003/00 |
Claims
1. A method for producing a purified biodiesel from a first
feedstock comprising: a. removing free fatty acids from said first
feedstock to produce a refined feedstock and free fatty acids; b.
transesterifying said refined feedstock to produce a first crude
biodiesel; c. distilling said first crude biodiesel to produce the
purified biodiesel and a distillation bottoms; and d. converting
the free fatty acids to a second feedstock using a free fatty acid
conversion process.
2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of using a
transesterification process to convert said second feedstock to a
second crude biodiesel.
3. The method of claim 2, further comprising the step of combining
the second crude biodiesel with the first crude biodiesel and
refining the first crude biodiesel and second crude biodiesel
together in step (c).
4. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of combining
the second feedstock with the refined feedstock and
transesterifying the refined feedstock and second feedstock
together in step (b).
5. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of pretreating
said first feedstock to produce a pretreated feedstock before the
free fatty acids are removed from said first feedstock and using
the pretreated feedstock as the first feedstock in step (a).
6. The method of claim 1, wherein said first feedstock contains
between about 0.2 wt % and about 30 wt % free fatty acids.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein said first feedstock comprises at
least one of corn oil, palm oils, fatty acid distillates,
distillation bottoms, brown grease, poultry fat, used cooking oil,
pennycress oil, algae oil, soybean oil, and canola oil.
8. The method of claim 1, wherein the second feedstock comprises
glycerides.
9. The method of claim 1, wherein said purified biodiesel has a
lower Acid Number than the first crude biodiesel.
10. The method of claim 1, wherein said purified biodiesel has a
lighter color than the first crude biodiesel.
11. The method of claim 1, wherein said purified biodiesel has a
lower wax content than the first crude biodiesel.
12. The method of claim 1, wherein said first purified biodiesel
has a lower sulfur content than the first crude biodiesel.
13. The method of claim 1, wherein said purified biodiesel has a
lower unsaponifiable impurities content than the first crude
biodiesel.
14. The method of claim 1, wherein said purified biodiesel has a
wax content of less than 0.1 wt %, an unsaponifiables content of 2
wt % or less, a soap content of 50 ppm or less, a sulfur content of
500 ppm or less, a monoglyceride content less than 0.6 wt %, a cold
soak filtration test result of 360 seconds or less and a lighter
color than the first feedstock.
15. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of utilizing
the distillation bottoms as a renewable fuel feedstock.
16. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of utilizing
the distillation bottoms as a fuel.
17. A method for producing purified biodiesel from a first
feedstock comprising: a. removing free fatty acids from said first
feedstock to produce a refined feedstock and free fatty acids; b.
transesterifying said refined feedstock to produce a first crude
biodiesel; c. refining said first crude biodiesel to produce a
first purified biodiesel; and d. converting the free fatty acids to
a second feedstock using a free fatty acid conversion process.
18. The method of claim 17, wherein said second feedstock is
further processed to produce a second crude biodiesel.
19. The method of claim 18, wherein said second crude biodiesel is
processed with at least one of the refined feedstock and the first
crude biodiesel to produce the first purified biodiesel.
20. The method of claim 17, wherein said first crude biodiesel is
refined via at least one of a distillation process and a filtration
process to produce the first purified biodiesel.
21. The method of claim 17, wherein a distillation bottoms are
separated from the crude biodiesel during the refining step.
22. The method of claim 21, further comprising the step of
utilizing the distillation bottoms as a renewable fuel feedstock or
a fuel.
23. The method of claim 17, wherein the second feedstock comprises
glycerides.
24. The method of claim 17, wherein said second feedstock is
processed with the refined feedstock to produce the first crude
biodiesel.
25. A method for producing a purified biodiesel from a feedstock
containing corn oil comprising: a. refining the feedstock
containing corn oil in a free fatty acid stripping process to
produce a refined feedstock and a fatty acid distillate; b.
transesterifying said refined feedstock to produce a crude
biodiesel; c. distilling said crude biodiesel to produce said
purified biodiesel and a distillation bottoms; and d. utilizing the
fatty acid distillate as a renewable fuel feedstock.
26. The method of claim 25, wherein the purified biodiesel has a
lighter color than the feedstock containing corn oil.
27. The method of claim 25, wherein the purified biodiesel has a
wax content of less than 0.1 wt %, an unsaponifiables content of 2
wt % or less, a soap content of 50 ppm or less, a sulfur content of
500 ppm or less, a monoglyceride content less than 0.6 wt %, a cold
soak filtration result of 360 seconds or less and a lighter color
than the feedstock containing corn oil.
28. The method of claim 25, further comprising the step of
utilizing the distillation bottoms as a renewable fuel
feedstock.
29. The method of claim 25, further comprising the step of
utilizing the distillation bottoms as a fuel.
Description
[0001] This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser.
No. 14/897,174 filed on Dec. 9, 2015 which is a National Phase
filing of international application number PCT/US2014/041708 filed
Jun. 10, 2014 which is based upon U.S. Provisional Application Ser.
No. 61/833,504 filed Jun. 11, 2013, the complete disclosures of
which are hereby expressly incorporated by this reference.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention generally relates to processing
low-cost feedstocks into high quality biodiesel that meets multiple
commercial biodiesel specifications.
BACKGROUND
[0003] Biodiesel is a renewable, clean-burning petroleum diesel
replacement that enhances independence from imported petroleum,
reduces greenhouse gas emissions, supports agriculture and rural
economies, and creates jobs.
[0004] While biodiesel provides many benefits, biodiesel production
must be economical in order to maintain supply of the advanced
biofuel. Producers must adapt to changing market conditions with
new processes for converting low-cost feedstocks while meeting
stringent product quality specifications.
[0005] Biodiesel finished product quality standards have evolved
over recent years. Currently, to ensure product consistency and
protect the consumer, biodiesel quality is regulated according to
various commercial standards, including ASTM D6751, EN 14214,
CAN/CGSB 3.524, and numerous customer-specific specifications. The
aforementioned specifications require biodiesel to be produced with
tight tolerances for many properties, including flash point,
residual alcohol, water and sediment, kinematic viscosity, sulfated
ash, oxidation stability, sulfur, copper strip corrosion, cetane
number, cloud point, carbon residue, Acid Number, cold soak
filterability, monoglycerides, total and free glycerin,
phosphorous, 90% distillation temperature, calcium and magnesium,
sodium and potassium, particulate contamination, and ester content.
The most recent revision of ASTM D6751, D6751-12, introduced
multiple biodiesel grades with different limits for Cold Soak
Filtration test time and monoglyceride content, further increasing
the importance of these two properties for customer acceptance of
biodiesel.
[0006] As specifications for biodiesel become more rigorous than
anticipated by earlier designers of production processes and as
demand for lower cost and non-food feedstocks increases, biodiesel
producers have an urgent need to improve their production processes
to allow the use of new and/or low-cost feedstocks in order to
compete and remain economically viable. However, low cost
feedstocks contain a variety of low level impurities that can
negatively impact biodiesel quality according to the aforementioned
commercial specifications.
[0007] Corn oil is an example of a promising lower cost, non-food
biodiesel feedstock that contains impurities that prevent
traditional biodiesel plants from using it to produce biodiesel
that meets all commercial specifications. In 2005, the U.S.
produced 42 percent of the world's corn. As of September 2012, the
United States had the nameplate capacity to produce approximately
14 billion gallons of ethanol in 211 operational ethanol plants. As
of only a few years ago, market conditions changed allowing it to
be profitable for ethanol producers to separate corn oil from the
byproducts of ethanol production. To demonstrate the potential
volume of corn oil that could be recovered from ethanol plants, a
100 MGPY ethanol plant is theoretically able to produce 7 million
gallons of corn oil annually.
[0008] Much of the corn oil that has been recovered to date has
been sold for use in animal feeds and for industrial uses since it
poses a number of challenges for biodiesel production. Corn oil
contains wax compounds that cause biodiesel to fail the Cold Soak
Filtration test in ASTM D6751 when processed in traditional
biodiesel production processes. It has proven difficult to remove
these waxes from the finished biodiesel product, in part because of
their solubility in biodiesel alkyl esters across a wide
temperature range. Waxes can be partially removed using cold
filtration technology or other winterization techniques. An
embodiment of the invention disclosed herein successfully removes a
vast majority of these waxes so as to efficiently meet ASTM D6751
specification requirements.
[0009] Corn oil from ethanol plants also contains elevated free
fatty acid (FFA) content. The FFA content of this corn oil may be
between about 4 and 15 wt %. In general, high FFA feedstocks are
difficult to process into biodiesel by base-catalyzed
transesterification because the FFAs are converted to soaps leading
to undesirable processing consequences (e.g., emulsion formation
and increased catalyst costs), yield losses, and production rate
downturns. The invention disclosed herein allows nearly any
feedstock to be processed, regardless of its initial FFA content.
As described below in detail, the invention includes multiple
embodiments for reducing FFA in the feedstocks (i.e., deacidifying
them) prior to transesterification, including conversion to soaps
followed by physical removal, physical removal by distillation,
and/or chemical conversion by esterification with an alcohol, such
as methanol, ethanol, or glycerol.
[0010] In some cases even after feedstock pretreatment with an FFA
reduction process, residual FFA levels can still remain higher than
desirable for traditional biodiesel production, which can result in
higher Acid Number values in the finished biodiesel. This is of
particular concern for biodiesel produced from feedstocks such as
corn oil and some fatty acid distillates. When corn oil, corn oil
biodiesel, and fatty acid distillates (along with biodiesel
produced therefrom) are analyzed for Acid Number with ASTM D664
Method B, they reveal a second inflection point in the titration
curve caused by compounds that are neutralized after the free fatty
acids. This additional inflection point causes the feedstock to
exhibit an Acid Number greater than would be predicted by its true
FFA content, and this Acid Number increase can be imparted to the
resulting biodiesel. One of the embodiments of the invention
disclosed herein efficiently reduces the quantities of both FFAs
and the compounds that cause the second inflection point such that
the finished biodiesel more easily and more predictably meets
commercial biodiesel specifications for Acid Number.
[0011] In addition to having higher FFA levels than conventional
commodity fats and oils, lower cost, non-food feedstocks for
biodiesel are often much darker in color and higher in sulfur
content. In traditional production processes, the darker color and
a significant portion of the sulfur content are largely imparted to
the finished biodiesel, which can create barriers to meeting
commercial specifications and to customer acceptance in general.
For example, corn oil sourced from ethanol processes customarily
retains a deep red color. The red color of the resulting biodiesel
gives the appearance of fuel that has been dyed, which is the
established governmental regulatory method to clearly advise
wholesalers, retailers and consumers that a diesel product is for
off-road use only. Red-dyed diesel fuel has critical tax
implications and is therefore strictly regulated. In commercial
distribution of biodiesel made from ethanol-sourced corn oil, fuel
retailers and end-users have expressed deep concern about using
this fuel for on-road applications, even to the point of refusing
to accept the product. It is important to overcome this failure of
market acceptance. Our research indicates that this red coloration
can be reduced to acceptable orange, yellow, or even clear
colorations depending on the embodiment of this invention that is
chosen for processing the feedstock and purifying the biodiesel.
For example, some biodiesel filter aids may reduce the intensity of
the red color, but only to a limited extent. It is costly and
inefficient to sufficiently eliminate the red color by use of
biodiesel filter aids alone. However, removing free fatty acids
from the corn oil by distillation and then purifying the eventual
biodiesel with filter aids will produce biodiesel with a
commercially acceptable color.
[0012] Similarly, certain filter aids can reduce the sulfur content
of biodiesel made from lower cost, non-food feedstocks with high
sulfur levels, but again this process is cost prohibitive to
produce biodiesel that is competitively priced with petroleum
diesel. An embodiment of the present invention efficiently removes
the impurities that cause unacceptable colors and/or high sulfur
content of the finished biodiesel product, thereby providing a fuel
which will have unrestricted acceptance in the market.
[0013] In addition to higher sulfur content and coloration issues,
lower cost, non-food feedstocks can also contain significant
quantities of high molecular weight, low volatility unsaponifiable
components which are soluble in both the oil and the resulting
biodiesel and therefore cannot be easily removed in conventional
biodiesel processes. The presence of these impurities may lower the
perceived quality of the finished biodiesel product and/or impact
its performance in certain operating conditions. Further, such
impurities reduce the ester content of the finished biodiesel and
thereby create potential specification issues under EN 14214,
CAN/CGSB 3.524, and numerous customer-specific specifications in
the United States. Corn oil in particular contains markedly high
levels of unsaponifiable components. An embodiment of the invention
disclosed efficiently removes these unsaponifiable impurities to
produce a higher quality biodiesel with improved market
acceptance.
[0014] Although the supply of corn oil is expected to increase
significantly in the near future, the characteristics described
above pose significant challenges for biodiesel producers who wish
to make and market biodiesel made from it. Similar biodiesel
quality and customer acceptance obstacles also impede the current
and future use of other emerging low cost, non-food feedstocks for
biodiesel production, including used cooking oils, poultry fats,
brown grease, fatty acid distillates, pennycress oil, and algal
oils.
[0015] In sum, the biodiesel industry has historically used a
majority proportion of higher purity feedstocks (often edible oils
and fats) and has been restricted by fewer and less stringent
product acceptance specifications. As the industry and its
customers have evolved, pricing and availability of higher purity
feedstocks have pushed the industry to explore the use of lower
cost, less pure feedstocks while it simultaneously faces tightening
acceptance specifications and commercial requirements for the
finished product. Further, these lower cost feedstocks are not
consistent in the nature and content of their impurities and
exhibit great variation based not only on the underlying source of
the oil, but on its production process and other variables
associated with the recovery of the oils from their source
materials. Conventional oil degumming pretreatment processes alone
will no longer allow production of biodiesel that is universally
commercially acceptable. As a result, what has been absent in the
biodiesel production processes are methods, systems, and
compositions that allow biodiesel producers to economically convert
lower cost, non-food feedstocks such as corn oil, used cooking oil,
poultry fats, brown grease, fatty acid distillates, pennycress oil,
and algal oils into high-quality biodiesel that can and will
conform to the various commercial biodiesel specifications in their
current and future forms. More specifically, it is necessary to be
able to produce biodiesel from such feedstocks via methods and
systems that overcome potential specification problems associated
with feedstocks that contain any combination of a variety of
problem properties such as waxes, unsaponifiables, varying FFA
levels, unacceptable color, and high sulfur levels.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0016] The advantages of the technology described may be better
understood by referring to the descriptions below with the
accompanying drawings. The drawings are not to scale and represent
exemplary configurations that depict general principles of the
technology which are not meant to limit the scope of the invention.
Dotted lines within the figures are representative of different
embodiments which may be included as part of the process.
[0017] FIG. 1 is a process flow diagram showing several embodiments
of methods for biodiesel production.
[0018] FIG. 2 is a process flow diagram showing more specific
embodiments of the methods for biodiesel production shown in FIG.
1.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0019] The apparatus, devices, systems, products, and methods of
the present invention will now be described in detail by reference
to various non-limiting embodiments, including the figures which
are exemplary only.
[0020] Unless otherwise indicated, all numbers expressing
dimensions, capacities, and so forth used in the specification and
claims are to be understood as being modified in all instances by
the term "about."
[0021] The present invention may be practiced by implementing
process steps in different orders than as specifically set forth
herein. All references to a "step" may include multiple steps (or
substeps) within the meaning of a step. Likewise, all references to
"steps" in plural form may also be construed as a single process
step or various combinations of steps.
[0022] The present invention may be practiced by implementing
process units in different orders than as specifically set forth
herein. All references to a "unit" may include multiple units (or
subunits) within the meaning of a unit. Likewise, all references to
"units" in plural form may also be construed as a single process
unit or various combinations of units.
[0023] As used in this specification and the appended claims, the
singular forms "a," "an," and "the" include plural referents unless
the context clearly indicates otherwise.
[0024] As used in this specification and the appended claims, the
term "fats and oils" refers to any material of biological origin
both vegetable and animal which is a useful feedstock for making
biodiesel. The feedstock may be in a crude form containing
impurities and is considered a "crude feedstock" or "crude oil." On
the other hand, the feedstock may be pretreated using other
equipment to remove impurities. The pretreatment process may occur
at a biodiesel production facility or at the source location or
both producing a "pretreated feedstock" or "pretreated oil." The
term "refined feedstock" refers to feedstocks having sufficiently
low free fatty acid content to be used directly in
transesterification. Refined feedstock may include crude alkyl
esters. The term "free fatty acid" refers to aliphatic carboxylic
acids having carbon chains with about 6 to about 24 carbon atoms.
Free fatty acids may be found in fats and oils between 0 to 100 wt
% and are susceptible to forming esters upon reacting with an
alcohol under esterification conditions. The term "ester" is used
to refer to organic esters, including mono-esters, di-esters,
tri-esters, and more generally multi-esters. The term "biodiesel"
is used to describe a fuel comprised of fatty acid alkyl esters of
long chain fatty acids derived from fats and oils. The term
"alcohol" is used to refer to an organic alcohol, including
monohydric alcohols, dihydric alcohols, and polyhydric alcohols
generally.
[0025] The term "wax" or "waxy compounds" refers to relatively
large molecules with at least one long saturated carbon chain that
are found in oils such as corn oil, canola oil, sunflower oil,
olive oil, poultry fat, pennycress oil, and possibly algal oils.
Waxy compounds have a high melting point (some are around
80.degree. C.) and can cause the oil to become cloudy when cooled.
Waxes have been grouped under the category of unsaponifiable
material for the purposes of this discussion. Waxy compounds can
cause biodiesel to fail certain cold soak filterability tests, even
at concentrations less than 0.1 wt %. The term "gum" or "gums"
refers to compounds (e.g., phospholipids) that may be present in a
crude feedstock which tend to form insoluble precipitates when
contacted with water and emulsions in base-catalyzed
transesterification processes. When water is added to the crude
feedstock under the appropriate conditions, gums can become
hydrated (absorb water) and insoluble so that they can be removed
by a centrifugal separator.
[0026] The term "Acid Number" refers to a common measurement of the
amount of acid functional groups in the molecules in a sample. It
specifically refers to the quantity of strong base (typically KOH)
required to titrate the acid functional groups in a sample. Acid
Number is conventionally expressed as milligrams of potassium
hydroxide per gram of sample.
[0027] The term "sulfur" refers to the total quantity of sulfur in
liquid fuels defined as mg/kg or parts per million (ppm). The term
"unsaponifiables" refers to compounds in oils and fats that do not
contain a fatty acid moiety that can be converted to an alkyl ester
molecule and that therefore can reduce the ester content and/or
yield of biodiesel. The term "cold soak filterability tests" refers
to test methods included in commercial specifications such as ASTM
D7501, CAN/CGSB 3.524 appendix A, and EN 14214 that are used to
evaluate the potential cold weather performance of biodiesel and
biodiesel blends.
[0028] The methods of the invention can accommodate a wide range of
feedstocks. In some embodiments of the invention, nonexclusive
examples of feedstock are fats and oils including coconut oil, palm
oils, palm kernel oil, cottonseed oil, rapeseed oil, peanut oil,
olive oil, linseed oil, babassu oil, tea oil, Chinese tallow oil,
olive kernel oil, meadowfoam oil, chaulmoorgra oil, coriander oil,
canola oil, soybean oil, corn oil, camelina oil, castor oil,
pennycress oil, lard oil, jatropha oil, sunflower oil, algae oils,
used cooking oils, bacon grease, choice white grease, yellow
grease, brown grease, poultry fat, beef tallow, lard, and fish
oils. Additionally, feedstocks may include purified or distilled
fats and oils including fatty acid distillates, such as palm fatty
acid distillate, and others. In some cases, distillation bottoms
may be considered a low-grade crude feedstock, including bottoms
from crude biodiesel distillation.
[0029] Corn oil is a feedstock of particular commercial
significance for producing biodiesel. Corn oil is a co-product of
the grain ethanol industry. Corn oil is typically recovered from
ethanol manufacturing processes using a number of methods including
solvent extraction, centrifugation, filter pressing, and other
processes. Additional oils suitable for biodiesel production may be
recovered from other grain ethanol processes including sorghum oil,
wheat oil, and others, depending on the feedstock for the ethanol
production process. After recovery, the crude oil may be further
processed as desired. In one embodiment, crude oil recovered from a
grain ethanol process is used for biodiesel production.
[0030] One embodiment of the present invention includes a method of
using low-cost feedstocks to produce biodiesel that meets multiple
commercial product specifications. The invention includes one or
more feedstock pretreatment, FFA refining, and biodiesel refining
embodiments which may be chosen depending on FFA content and other
factors to overcome potential specification problems associated
with feedstocks having waxes, high free fatty acid levels,
unacceptable color, high unsaponifiable levels, and high sulfur
levels. Certain feedstock pretreatment, FFA refining, and biodiesel
refining embodiments described herein may be installed and used at
a single biodiesel facility thereby giving the facility operator
the option of choosing one process pathway for a particular
feedstock and another process pathway for another feedstock
depending on feedstock characteristics or other factors. The
biodiesel production method disclosed may include all or fewer than
all of the feedstock pretreatment, FFA refining, and biodiesel
refining embodiments described herein. The particular embodiment(s)
will dictate which feedstocks can be used to produce commercially
acceptable biodiesel. One method for crude feedstock pretreatment
and biodiesel refining can produce biodiesel having physical and
chemical properties that conform to commercial specifications
regardless of the feedstock properties.
[0031] Crude feedstocks (105) containing various impurities require
pretreatment and/or FFA refining before being subjected to a
transesterification process to convert the refined feedstock to
crude biodiesel (150) and finally a biodiesel purification process
to make high quality purified biodiesel (160) that meets multiple
commercial specifications. An exemplary method (100) with reference
to FIG. 1 is outlined for processing crude feedstock (105) into
glycerin (145) and purified biodiesel (160) meeting commercial
product specifications. The crude feedstock (105) arrives at the
biodiesel production facility and is discharged into crude
feedstock storage. Compatible feedstocks may be combined and stored
in a shared tank before being processed. Crude feedstock (105)
first undergoes a feedstock pretreatment process (110) that depends
on its FFA content and other properties to produce a pretreated
feedstock (115).
[0032] The pretreated feedstock (115) may then be subjected to an
FFA refining process (120) which removes and/or converts FFA by way
of: FFA stripping (dashed line 2) or esterification/glycerolysis
(dashed line 3) to yield a refined feedstock (125). Optionally, FFA
refining (120) may yield a stream of crude biodiesel (150) in the
case of FFA stripping followed by esterification of the fatty acid
distillate. As another option, FFA refining (120) may yield a
stream of glycerides or refined feedstock (125) in the case of FFA
stripping followed by glycerolysis of the fatty acid distillate. In
one embodiment, as shown by dashed line 1, pretreated feedstock
(115) having sufficiently low levels of FFA to be categorized as
refined feedstock (i.e., the crude feedstock was chemically refined
to remove FFA in feedstock pretreatment (110) or was refined
elsewhere) bypasses the FFA refining unit (120). Refined feedstock
(125) is processed in a transesterification process (130) to yield
crude biodiesel (150) and crude glycerin (135). Crude glycerin
(135) is refined in a glycerin refining unit (140) yielding
glycerin (145) which may be recycled into the FFA refining process
(120) for glycerolysis. Crude biodiesel (150) undergoes a final
biodiesel refining process (155) to produce a
commercially-acceptable purified biodiesel product (160). Wet
alcohol from biodiesel refining (155) and glycerin refining (140)
is sent to an alcohol recovery unit (165) to separate water (175)
and recover dry alcohol (170). Embodiments of the unit operations
of FIG. 1 are described in more detail in FIG. 2.
[0033] FIG. 2 shows process embodiments similar to the embodiments
shown in FIG. 1, except FIG. 2 shows additional embodiments and
process steps in more detail. Crude feedstock (105) is received
into storage at the biodiesel production facility. Compatible
feedstocks may be combined and stored in a shared tank before they
are processed further. Crude feedstocks (105) are pretreated and
refined as dictated by their FFA content and other feedstock
properties. Crude feedstock (105) may undergo either a chemical
refining (205) (dashed line A), degumming (210) (dashed line B), or
a bleaching and polishing (230) (dashed line C) pretreatment step
depending on its physical and chemical characteristics. Typically
chemical refining (205) (dashed line A) is performed for crude
feedstocks having a relatively low amount of FFA (<4%, for
example). In one embodiment, an acid, such as phosphoric acid, may
be added to the crude feedstock (105) in the chemical refining unit
(205) with or without additional water. In such a process, the acid
and water perform a similar function as in the degumming unit
(210). Regardless of acid use, a strong base (215), such as NaOH
(caustic soda) or KOH (potash), is added to the crude feedstock
from unit (105) to reduce the free fatty acid content to a desired
level (<0.2%, for example) by converting the FFAs to soaps and
also to neutralize any added acid. In one embodiment, soapstock is
composed of water, soaps, hydrated gums if present, and any other
hydratable, polar, or solid components in the crude feedstock. This
soapstock (225) is then removed in a centrifugal separator
(220).
[0034] Alternatively, feedstocks having greater than about 4 wt %
FFA are typically pretreated with a degumming step (210) (dashed
line B), although in particular situations feedstocks with lower
amounts of FFA may also be pretreated with degumming (210). An
acid, such as phosphoric acid, may be added to the crude feedstock
(105) in the degumming unit (210) which may be heated, for example,
using steam (water). In such a process, the acid and water hydrate
naturally-occurring gums in the oil or fat so that they can be
separated from the crude feedstock. The degumming unit (210) is
also capable of facilitating the removal of other hydratable and/or
polar impurities in the crude feedstock as well as solids.
Optionally, a base (215), such as sodium hydroxide (caustic soda),
may be added to the degumming unit (210) in order to neutralize the
acid used for degumming. Excess base may also be added to
neutralize a minority portion of the free fatty acids.
[0035] In both embodiments described above, feedstock leaving the
chemical refining unit (205) or the degumming unit (210) is
processed in a centrifugal separator (220). The centrifugal
separator unit (220) removes the aqueous phase and any hydratable
or polar compounds from the crude feedstock formed in unit (205) or
(210) in addition to any solids. This aqueous phase may be referred
to as soapstock (225) in both embodiments.
[0036] Once the crude feedstock (105) has passed through the
centrifugal separator (220) it may undergo one or more drying,
bleaching and polishing steps in unit (230) including heat
bleaching or clay bleaching steps to reduce color, solids, residual
soaps, moisture and other impurities in the partially refined
feedstock. With deeply colored feedstocks, the bleaching and
polishing steps (230) do not typically remove enough color to
eliminate the potential for commercial rejection of the resulting
biodiesel. In the case where corn oil is the crude feedstock,
bleaching and polishing steps (230) do not typically remove enough
of the characteristic deep red color to prevent the resulting
biodiesel from resembling fuel that has been dyed for off-road use
only. In one embodiment the feedstock is bleached and dried in the
same unit operation. In another embodiment the feedstock is dried
by a vacuum-dryer, flash drum, or other such means to a desired
water content either before and/or after it enters the bleaching
unit. The desired water content depends on the type of filter
material that is used in the bleaching unit and the impurities that
are present in the feedstock at this point.
[0037] After the feedstock has been dried and bleached it enters a
polishing filter where any remaining filterable impurities are
removed, along with any fine particles of filter material from the
bleaching step. For feedstocks containing waxy compounds, the
preceding steps may remove some wax if operated at low temperatures
(<150.degree. F., for example), but since wax is somewhat
soluble even at relatively low temperatures some of the waxes are
retained in the feedstock and are carried through to the biodiesel.
Also, the viscosity of oils and fats increases dramatically at
lower temperature, which means lower refining temperatures can
dramatically reduce the feasible throughput of any process unit
that has to operate at a lower temperature.
[0038] In one embodiment, where corn oil, used cooking oil, fatty
acid distillate, or other feedstocks are pretreated, the feedstock
(105) may not necessarily require chemical refining (205),
degumming (210), or centrifugation in unit (220) and may instead
pass directly (dashed line C) to the bleaching and polishing unit
(230) to yield a dry pretreated feedstock (115). In fact, some
feedstocks may form an irresolvable emulsion in the centrifuge
(220) if they are subjected to a degumming (210) and/or washing
step prior to the centrifuge (220). Therefore, in one embodiment,
feedstocks (105) that emulsify are not subjected to units (205) or
(210) and (220) and may instead be fed directly (dashed line C) to
the bleaching and polishing unit (230) after bypassing the
degumming/chemical refining and centrifugal separation processes to
yield a pretreated feedstock (115). Furthermore, some crude
feedstocks (105) such as certain fatty acid distillates may not
require feedstock pretreatment (110) at all and may therefore pass
directly to FFA conversion unit (250) (dashed line 3) as a
pretreated feedstock (115).
[0039] Depending on the effectiveness of the initial crude
feedstock pretreatment strategy and the pretreated feedstock FFA
content, the pretreated feedstock (115) may optionally undergo
further processing. If free fatty acids have been removed in the
chemical refining unit (205) and centrifuge (220) in the form of
soapstock (225), the pretreated feedstock (115) may continue
directly to the transesterification process as a refined feedstock
(125) as shown by dashed line 1. However, if a significant quantity
of free fatty acids remain (>0.2%, for example) because the
crude feedstock (105) was pretreated with a degumming process (210)
(dashed line B) and/or a bleaching and polishing step (230) (dashed
line C), the pretreated feedstock (115) requires further processing
in either the FFA stripping unit (235) or in the FFA conversion
unit (250). Free fatty acids in the crude feedstock (105) are
generally undesirable in the transesterification process (130)
because they form soaps in the oil when they react with the base
catalyst used to drive the transesterification reaction. Therefore,
they must be either removed or converted or both. There are two
primary processing options to reduce FFA levels in the pretreated
feedstock (115): 1) stripping or deacidification to physically
remove FFAs from the feedstock (235) and 2) chemical conversion by
esterification or glycerolysis (250). Glycerolysis is a subcategory
of esterification in which glycerol, an alcohol, is used to convert
FFAs into glycerides, which are fatty acid esters of glycerol. An
advantage of this invention over prior art is that a feedstock with
any FFA content (0-100 wt %) can be processed with the appropriate
feedstock pretreatment embodiment (110).
[0040] In one embodiment shown by dashed line 2, the pretreated
feedstock (115) is stripped of free fatty acids along with other
components of low molecular weight relative to glycerides in a
physical FFA refining step using distillation (235). Although the
FFA stripping step can be performed on feedstocks having any FFA
level, a preferred FFA level is between about 0.2 wt % FFA and
about 30 wt % FFA. The FFA stripping step (235) may employ steam,
hot oil, or other thermal fluid to heat the crude feedstock. The
distillation may occur under vacuum to remove free fatty acids from
the oil phase by evaporation in unit (235). The FFA stripping step
(235) may employ a distillation column, wiped-film evaporator, or
other such equipment and it may optionally include the injection of
steam into the distillation unit to facilitate the separation of
the FFAs from the remainder of the feedstock. Two product streams
can be produced from FFA stripping (235): a relatively pure fatty
acid distillate (240) made up of greater than about 50 wt % FFA and
the stripped feedstock (245) containing less than about 0.5 wt %
FFA. The stripped feedstock stream (245) is sufficiently purified
during FFA stripping (235) that it can enter the
transesterification process as a refined feedstock (125). The fatty
acid distillate stream (240) may be sold as a final product or may
undergo further processing to chemically convert the FFAs in unit
(250) (dashed line 4).
[0041] FFA stripping can have additional benefits beyond FFA
reduction. As one example, corn oil subjected to FFA stripping in
unit (235) is substantially less red than crude or esterified corn
oil. That is, compounds are modified or removed along with the FFA
such that biodiesel made from stripped corn oil does not resemble
dyed diesel fuel.
[0042] In another embodiment, pretreated feedstock (115) is
directly processed in unit (250). Feedstocks having between 0.1-100
wt % FFA can be processed in the FFA conversion unit (250) to
convert FFA into esters by way of esterification or glycerides by
way of glycerolysis (dashed line 3). Fatty acid distillate (240)
from FFA stripping (235) may also be processed in the FFA
conversion unit (250) (dashed line 4).
[0043] In one embodiment pretreated feedstock (115) (following
dashed arrow 3) and/or fatty acid distillate (240) (following
dashed arrow 4) is esterified to form alkyl esters in unit (250).
In this embodiment free fatty acids may be esterified using a
homogeneous and/or heterogeneous catalyst with an alcohol (e.g. dry
alcohol from unit 170) to form fatty acid alkyl esters. The
homogeneous catalyst may include sulfuric acid, methanesulfonic
acid, p-toluene sulfonic acid, hydrochloric acid, or other suitable
acid. The heterogeneous catalyst may include an acid ion exchange
resin such as Amberlyst BD20 sulfonic acid ion exchange resin from
Rohm and Haas and Lewatit.RTM. catalyst from Lanxess, other solid
catalysts such as metal oxide materials, or enzymatic catalysts.
Esterification of FFAs in the FFA conversion unit (250) may take
place in one or more reactors and the product may be separated,
washed and/or recycled back into itself until the FFA is low enough
to leave as a refined feedstock (125) or blended into the refined
feedstock (125). Homogeneous acid catalyst may or may not be
removed and/or neutralized before leaving the FFA conversion unit
(250). In one embodiment FFA in the product stream contains less
than about 5 wt %, 4 wt %, 3 wt %, 2 wt %, 1 wt %, 0.5 wt %, 0.3 wt
% or 0.1 wt % FFA before entering transesterification as either
part or all of the refined feedstock (125). Alternatively, if fatty
acid distillate (240) converted in the FFA conversion unit (250)
has sufficiently high alkyl ester content or if the alkyl esters
are phase separated from the product mixture the alkyl ester-rich
stream may bypass transesterification (130) entirely and proceed
directly to biodiesel refining (155) as crude biodiesel (150).
[0044] In the case where corn oil is the feedstock subjected to
free fatty acid esterification in unit (250), the red color of the
corn oil may in fact become deeper than the initial crude corn oil.
Thus, the resulting corn oil biodiesel may more strongly resemble
dyed petroleum diesel fuel unless it is further processed to remove
the color. Similarly, the brown color of other crude feedstocks may
deepen during FFA conversion in unit (250) and thus require
additional processing downstream to reduce the color of the
biodiesel to commercially acceptable levels. Generally speaking,
discouraging color issues may be either improved or exacerbated
during feedstock pretreatment (110) and FFA refining (120) but they
are often exacerbated.
[0045] In another embodiment, pretreated feedstock (115) (following
dashed arrow 3) and/or fatty acid distillate (240) (following
dashed arrow 4) undergo glycerolysis to form glycerides in unit
(250). In this embodiment, free fatty acids from the pretreated
feedstock (115) or fatty acid distillate (240) may be reacted with
glycerin from unit (145) in FFA conversion unit (250) to form
mono-, di-, and triglycerides, which can then be transesterified to
produce biodiesel. Various process equipment may be used within the
FFA conversion unit (250) to accomplish this step and reduce the
FFA of the products stream to less than about 5 wt %, 4 wt %, 3 wt
%, 2 wt %, 1 wt %, 0.5 wt %, 0.3 wt % or 0.1 wt % FFA before
entering transesterification as a refined feedstock (125).
[0046] Thus, feedstock (105) containing any quantity of FFA can be
processed by at least one of the pretreatment (110) and FFA
refining (120) methods described above whereby FFAs are removed in
a chemical refining unit (205), a physical refining unit (235)
and/or converted by esterification or glycerolysis in a FFA
conversion unit (250). However, in each pretreatment (110) and FFA
refining (120) approach a small amount of free fatty acids
typically remains and ends up in the finished biodiesel product,
which increases the biodiesel Acid Number. Because certain
feedstocks can contain impurities that contribute to biodiesel Acid
Number when assessed according to ASTM D664 Method B, further
purification must be performed on biodiesel made from such
feedstocks in order to meet commercial specifications and obtain
full market acceptance. This is particularly true for biodiesel
produced from feedstocks such as corn oil and some fatty acid
distillates. When corn oil, corn oil biodiesel and fatty acid
distillates (along with biodiesel produced therefrom) are analyzed
for Acid Number with ASTM D664 Method B, they can exhibit a second
titration inflection point caused by compounds that are titrated
after the free fatty acids. Therefore the feedstock tends to have
an Acid Number greater than the amount of FFA in the oil, and this
Acid Number increase is imparted to the resulting biodiesel without
additional downstream processing.
[0047] Once the feedstock has been pretreated (110) and refined
(120) it enters the transesterification process (130) and then on
to the biodiesel refining process (155). There are several
processes that may be used to produce biodiesel from oils and fats,
including base-catalyzed transesterification, acid-catalyzed
transesterification and enzymatic transesterification.
[0048] In one embodiment, biodiesel is produced from feedstock
using base-catalyzed transesterification in one, two, three, or
more reactors. In one embodiment, refined feedstock (125) is
subjected to a transesterification reaction process and then
refined to produce purified biodiesel (160) and glycerin (145).
This transesterification reaction is based on the chemical reaction
of the mono-, di-, and triglycerides contained in the feedstock
with an alcohol in the presence of a base catalyst. The base
catalyst used in the transesterification reaction may be selected
from several different basic materials. Suitable catalysts include,
for example, NaOH or caustic soda, KOH or potash, CH.sub.3NaO
(sodium methoxide), and CH.sub.3KO (potassium methoxide). The
alcohol used in the transesterification reaction may be selected
from, for example, methanol or ethanol.
[0049] As the transesterification reaction is carried out in a
first reactor (255), dry alcohol (170) and catalyst or enzymes
(260) may be delivered to the refined feedstock (125) in parallel,
as separate reaction components, or the alcohol and catalyst can be
delivered to the refined feedstock (125) as a mixture. When
delivered as a mixture, the catalyst may be dissolved or dispersed
in the alcohol by any suitable means prior to charging the mixture
into the feedstock. Alternatively, the catalyst may be provided as
a liquid and mixed with the alcohol, limiting the need for
dissolution of the catalyst in the alcohol prior to mixing the
alcohol and catalyst with the feedstock. Where the catalyst is
mixed with the alcohol as a liquid, the catalyst may be added to
the alcohol by, for example, one or more metering pumps. In
addition, because an alkaline catalyst might be sensitive to water,
the catalyst may be stored in a tank protected with a nitrogen
layer. In carrying out the transesterification reaction, the dry
alcohol (170), catalyst or enzymes (260), and refined feedstock
(125) may be charged directly into the first reactor (255) or may
be mixed before entering the reactor (255).
[0050] The reaction system can be closed to the atmosphere to
prevent loss of the alcohol used in the transesterification reactor
unit (255). As the reaction components are mixed, the mixture may
be kept just below the boiling point of the alcohol to speed the
reaction time by maximizing reaction temperature while minimizing
the amount of alcohol lost during reaction. Alternatively, the
reaction mixture may be heated above the boiling point of the
alcohol in a vessel that is either pressurized or uses reflux to
maintain the alcohol largely in a liquid state. All vessels which
contain alcohol, may also be connected to a vent system to capture
any alcohol vapors. Captured alcohol vapors may be fed into a
condensing system that recovers the alcohol and recycles the
alcohol back into the refining process. An excess amount of alcohol
is typically used to ensure total conversion of the feedstock
glycerides into the desired ester product.
[0051] The transesterification reaction mixture leaves the reactor
(255) and enters a phase separation unit (265). In the phase
separation unit (265) the reaction mixture is separated into
two-phases: an ester-rich phase (crude biodiesel) that is
transferred to an additional reactor or reactors (270) and a
glycerin-rich phase (crude glycerin) collected in unit (135). The
crude glycerin (135) is more dense than the crude biodiesel (150)
and the two phases can be separated by gravity separation in a
decanting vessel or, if needed or desired, by centrifugal
separation.
[0052] In one embodiment, transesterification of the feedstock
takes place in one or more mixing-settling process units. In such
process units, the transesterification reaction occurs in a mixer
or reactor and the crude biodiesel and crude glycerin resulting
from the transesterification reaction form two distinct phases that
can be separated by a settling process. If two or more
mixing-settling process units are used, the feedstock and the
intermediate product, respectively, may flow successively through
the two or more mixing-settling processes. Each mixing-settling
process can be supplied with the desired amount of alcohol and
catalyst. The reactors included in the mixing-settling process
units can be multi-stage in design, comprising various reaction
chambers or zones in order to achieve maximum conversion efficiency
to the ester product. The settling steps allow phase separation to
approach the limit of solubility, which facilitates downstream
purification of the biodiesel and glycerin products.
[0053] Once the transesterification reaction is complete in the
second reactor (270), the reaction mixture enters a second phase
separation unit (275). In one embodiment, acid (280) is mixed with
the reaction mixture leaving reactor (270) to deactivate the
transesterification catalyst before entering the phase separation
unit (275). In other embodiments the catalyst is deactivated after
the phase separation unit. The acid can be diluted with water (175)
prior to being introduced to the reaction mixture in an acid
dilution vessel (285). In the phase separation unit (275) the
reaction mixture is again separated into two-phases: an ester-rich
phase or crude biodiesel (150) and a glycerin-rich phase or crude
glycerin (135) sent to unit (290). Each of these crude phases may
include a significant amount of the excess alcohol used in the
reaction. Moreover, the crude reaction products may include other
impurities such as excess catalyst, soaps, salts, water, and high
boiling impurities. In one embodiment, some or all of these
impurities may be treated or removed from the crude reaction
products before the biodiesel and the glycerin phases are separated
in unit (275).
[0054] In one embodiment, after the crude biodiesel (150) and crude
glycerin (135) have been separated in unit (275), crude glycerin
(135) may be treated with a suitable acid from an acid dilution
vessel (285) to neutralize the residual catalyst, and crude
biodiesel (150) can be subjected to a water wash in unit (295) to
remove glycerin, salts, and soaps. The separated crude glycerin
(135) may be subjected to additional purification in an evaporation
step to remove any remaining alcohol. One such distillation and
drying step is performed in unit (290). The glycerin alcohol
stripper (290) removes alcohol and water which is collected in a
wet alcohol unit (315) leaving a glycerin product which is
approximately 78-98% pure glycerin. This glycerin (145) can be
further refined to a purity of about 99% or higher using additional
processing techniques, such that the glycerin product is suitable
for use in high purity applications such as cosmetics or
pharmaceuticals.
[0055] Crude biodiesel (150) leaving the phase separation unit
(275) will still include impurities and therefore must be purified
in one or more unit operations. The order and number of these
operations may vary depending on crude feedstock properties,
pretreatment process, transesterification process, and economic
feasibility. After the crude biodiesel (150) is separated from
crude glycerin (135) in unit (275), it is typically subjected to
further biodiesel refining (155). For example, after separation,
the crude biodiesel may contain residual alcohol, glycerin, small
amounts of catalyst, salts, and soaps. This may be the case even if
the crude reaction products are refined to remove or neutralize
impurities prior to separation. In one embodiment, crude biodiesel
(150) is subjected to a flash evaporation or distillation processes
to remove excess alcohol immediately after the phase separation
unit (275) before the water wash unit (295). In another embodiment,
crude alkyl esters (dotted arrow from the FFA conversion unit
(250)) may bypass transesterification and directly enter the water
wash (295) as a crude biodiesel (150) or another step in the
biodiesel refining process (155). In one embodiment, crude
biodiesel (150) from FFA conversion unit (250) is distilled in
biodiesel refining unit (155) to produce a purified biodiesel (160)
and distillation bottoms (180) which may be recycled as a crude
feedstock (105) for biodiesel, used as a feedstock for other
renewable fuels, or directly used as a renewable fuel product.
[0056] In one embodiment of biodiesel refining (155), crude
biodiesel (150) is first washed in unit (295) in order to remove
water-soluble substances such as soaps and residual catalyst. Soaps
that may be present in the water wash unit (295) may be split to
avoid the formation of emulsions during washing, for example, by
the addition of an acid. Diluted hydrochloric acid, such as a 3.7%
solution, is suitable for such an application and can be prepared
and added as necessary. In one embodiment, the biodiesel wash
process may simply include gentle mixing of the crude biodiesel
(150) with water (175) in unit (295), which removes residual water
soluble and polar impurities as they are taken up in the aqueous
phase.
[0057] If the crude biodiesel (150) is processed through such a
washing step in unit (295), the washed biodiesel may contain excess
water. Such excess water may be removed, for example, in a phase
separation unit (300). Water from the phase separation unit (300)
may be recycled back to the acid dilution unit (285) for reuse. In
one embodiment, the crude biodiesel (150) may be stripped of
alcohol and water in the biodiesel alcohol stripper (305), which
may consist of distillation vessels, distillation columns, short
path distillation, wiped film evaporators, thin film evaporators,
falling film evaporators, and other strategies. Water (175) is
removed from wet alcohol (315) in the alcohol rectification unit
(320). The water (175) can be recycled into the water wash unit
(295) and the dry alcohol (170) is recycled back to the
transesterification reactor(s) (255) and (270).
[0058] While some dried biodiesel (158) (output of the biodiesel
alcohol stripper (305)) products made from certain edible-quality
feedstocks such as canola oil, lard, and technical tallow may be
ready for use, distribution, or sale after leaving the biodiesel
alcohol stripper (305), dried biodiesel products made from low-cost
feedstocks will not typically meet commercial biodiesel
specifications even when the appropriate feedstock pretreatment
(110) and FFA refining (120) options are employed. Particularly,
dried biodiesel (158) made from emerging non-food feedstocks such
as corn oil, used cooking oil, poultry fat, pennycress oil, fatty
acid distillates, or algae oil may require additional processing
after the biodiesel alcohol stripper (305) before it is ready for
use, distribution, or sale. However, the combination of an
appropriate biodiesel refining process (155) with an appropriate
feedstock pretreatment (110) and FFA refining (120) process will
provide a purified biodiesel (160) that meets commercial
specifications regardless of the initial feedstock properties.
[0059] Depending on the feedstock and its impurities, the biodiesel
purification unit (310) may differ. In one embodiment, the dried
biodiesel (158) is subjected to a cold filtration process in unit
(310) such that high melting components, such as proteins, waxes,
and certain unsaponifiables, are cooled to below their solubility
point and removed by filtration. In this way, the dried biodiesel
(158) can be made to meet commercial cold soak filterability tests.
Generally, combining the cold filtration option with feedstock
pretreatment (110) and FFA refining (120) has many advantages.
However, certain feedstocks may cause the filter(s) to plug more
quickly and require more frequent down time for filter changes and
higher operating costs. Such feedstocks include those with high wax
content, such as corn oil, sunflower oil, olive oil, pennycress
oil, certain poultry fats, and possibly algal oils. Because of
their solubility in alkyl esters across a wide temperature range,
waxes cannot always be fully removed in a cost-effective manner
using a combination of a pretreatment (110) and FFA refining (120)
process and a cold filtration process or similar winterization
technique. Cold filtration techniques may use diatomaceous earth
(DE) or other filter media to increase the effectiveness of the
filtration.
[0060] In another embodiment, the dried biodiesel (158) is
subjected to a membrane filtration process in unit (310) such that
high melting components, such as proteins, waxes, and certain
unsaponifiables, are condensed and removed below their melting
point. Membrane filtration may occur at cold temperatures such that
condensed particles are more easily filtered or at higher
temperatures using membranes with very small pores that can
separate larger or more polar molecules from a solution (e.g.,
nanofiltration). In this way, the dried biodiesel (158) can be made
to meet commercial biodiesel specifications. Membrane filtration
techniques may include ceramic membranes, polymer membranes,
molecular sieves, and carbon fibers or nanotubes. In one
embodiment, product leaving the phase separation unit (300) may
directly enter a membrane filtration unit which removes both
methanol and water rather than passing through a biodiesel alcohol
stripper (305).
[0061] In another embodiment, the dried biodiesel (158) is
subjected to a resin filtration process in unit (310) such that
impurities, including water, are removed. In this way, the dried
biodiesel (158) can be made to meet commercial biodiesel
specifications. Resin filtration techniques may include dry wash
resins, ion-exchange resins and other absorbent resins. In one
embodiment, product leaving the phase separation unit (275) or
(300) may directly enter a resin filtration unit which may remove
methanol, glycerin, water and other impurities rather than passing
through additional purification units.
[0062] In another embodiment, dried biodiesel (158) from the
biodiesel alcohol stripper (305) can be subjected to distillation
in unit (310) to remove or reduce the levels of waxes,
unsaponifiables, soaps, color compounds, sulfur compounds,
high-boiling compounds with acid or base functional groups, and
mono-, di-, and triglycerides. Such a distillation process can be
performed by various process equipment, including distillation
vessels, distillation columns, short path distillation, wiped film
evaporators, thin film evaporators, falling film evaporators, and
other strategies. The resulting biodiesel is purified (160) and
should be commercially acceptable in spite of the problematic
components that were present in the initial crude feedstock.
[0063] In one embodiment, biodiesel purification unit (310) is a
short path distillation process (e.g., a wiped film evaporator)
used to reduce levels of sulfur compounds, waxes, soaps,
phospholipids, color impurities, high molecular weight compounds
such as polymerized fatty acid compounds and compounds with acid
functional groups, glycerides (mono-, di- and triglycerides), and
unsaponifiable material comprising at least one of sterols, sterol
derivatives, proteins, and pigments.
[0064] In another embodiment, biodiesel purification unit (310) may
be a distillation column when, in addition to the impurities
discussed in the preceding paragraph, a particularly low level of
monoglycerides is critical for commercial acceptance, such as less
than about 0.2 wt %.
[0065] In one embodiment, biodiesel distillation in unit (310)
purifies the crude biodiesel to reduce protein, wax, and
unsaponifiables content such that the purified biodiesel product
will pass cold soak filterability tests. In one embodiment
biodiesel distillation purifies the crude biodiesel to remove
compounds causing a second inflection point and elevated Acid
Number when titrated according to ASTM D664 Method B. In one
embodiment biodiesel distillation purifies the crude biodiesel to
remove other acidic compounds such that the purified biodiesel
product will have a reduced Acid Number. In one embodiment, the
purified biodiesel product (160) has an Acid Number of less than
about 1, 0.5, 0.3 or 0.1. In one embodiment biodiesel distillation
purifies the crude biodiesel to remove unsaponifiables such that
the purified biodiesel product will have increased ester content.
In one embodiment biodiesel distillation purifies the crude
biodiesel to reduce color compounds such that the purified
biodiesel product will have a lighter color than the original
feedstock. In one embodiment biodiesel distillation purifies the
crude biodiesel to reduce color compounds such that the purified
biodiesel product will meet color requirements for customer
acceptance and/or will not appear similar to diesel dyed for
off-road use. In one embodiment biodiesel distillation purifies the
crude biodiesel to remove glycerides such that the purified
biodiesel product will meet commercial monoglyceride specifications
such as the new monoglyceride specification in ASTM D6751 and
future glyceride specifications should they be introduced.
[0066] In one embodiment, biodiesel distillation occurs between
200-300.degree. C. and 800-0 Torr. In another embodiment, biodiesel
distillation occurs between 230-290.degree. C. and 40-0 Torr. In
yet another, biodiesel distillation occurs between 240-280.degree.
C. and 5-0.01 Torr.
[0067] In one embodiment, the biodiesel product produced from the
biodiesel purification process will have a wax content of less than
0.1 wt %, an unsaponifiables content of 2 wt % or less, a soap
content of 50 ppm or less, a sulfur content of 500 ppm or less, a
monoglyceride content less than 0.6 wt %, a cold soak filtration
result of 360 seconds or less and a lighter color than the original
feedstock.
[0068] In another embodiment, the biodiesel product produced from
the biodiesel purification process will have a wax content of less
than 0.05 wt %, an unsaponifiables content of 1 wt % or less, a
soap content of 20 ppm or less, a sulfur content of 15 ppm or less,
a monoglyceride content less than 0.5 wt %, a cold soak filtration
result of 240 seconds or less and a lighter color than the original
feedstock.
[0069] In one embodiment, the biodiesel product produced from the
biodiesel purification process will have a wax content of less than
0.01 wt %, an unsaponifiables content of 0.5 wt % or less, a soap
content of 10 ppm or less, a sulfur content of 10 ppm or less, a
monoglyceride content less than 0.4 wt %, a cold soak filtration
result of 200 seconds or less and a lighter color than the original
feedstock.
[0070] The invention is illustrated in detail below with reference
to the examples, but without restricting it to them.
EXAMPLES
Example 1
Feedstock Properties and Corresponding Processing Options
[0071] Feedstock properties determine how the feedstock should be
processed in order to produce a commercially acceptable biodiesel.
However, there are usually multiple processing options available
and the chosen pathway is constrained by a combination of what is
economically feasible and end-product quality. Depending on the
feedstock more than one acceptable feedstock pretreatment (110),
free fatty acid refining (120) and biodiesel refining (155)
processing pathways may exist. Table 1 outlines a number of
feedstock refining pathways that correspond to the Process Units
depicted in FIG. 2, though other options may exist.
TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 Feedstock Refining Pathways Feedstock
Refining -110, 120 Op- FIG. 2 tion Pretreatment -110 FFA Refining
-120 Process Units A1 Chemical Refining + Bypass (1) 205, 230
Bleaching (A) B1 Degumming + Bleaching Bypass (1) 210, 230 (B) B2
Degumming + Bleaching FFA Stripping (2) 210, 230, 235 (B) B3
Degumming + Bleaching FFA Conversion (3) 210, 230, 250 (B) B4
Degumming + Bleaching FFA Stripping + 210, 230, 235, (B) FFA
Conversion (4) 250 C2 Bleaching (C) FFA Stripping (2) 230, 235 C3
Bleaching (C) FFA Conversion (3) 230, 250 C4 Bleaching (C) FFA
Stripping + 230, 235, 250 FFA Conversion (4)
[0072] Table 2 outlines biodiesel refining pathways that correspond
to biodiesel purification unit (310) in FIG. 2. It should be noted
that the filtration option may include any number of filtration
techniques, including cold filtration, membrane filtration, the use
of chemically-active adsorbents or resins (i.e., "dry washing"), or
other such methods. Similarly the distillation option may include
any number of distillation techniques, including atmospheric
distillation, vacuum distillation, or other such methods.
TABLE-US-00002 TABLE 2 Biodiesel Refining Pathways Biodiesel
Refining -155 Option Biodiesel Purification -310 F Filtration D
Distillation
[0073] Table 3 provides a list of feedstocks, feedstock properties,
and corresponding processing pathways with respect to the feedstock
refining and biodiesel refining pathways listed in Table 1 and
Table 2, respectively. The processing pathways in Table 3 are
examples of how particular feedstocks could be processed to produce
commercially acceptable biodiesel, however, other acceptable
pathways may exist. Each feedstock requires an appropriate
combination of feedstock refining pathway and biodiesel refining
pathway in order to produce commercially acceptable biodiesel.
TABLE-US-00003 TABLE 3 Example Feedstock Properties and Processing
Pathways Example Feedstock properties Crude Feedstock FFA Wax
Unsaponi- Processing Pathway Examples Content Content Color Sulfur
fiables Options Corn Oil High High High Low High C2 + D, C3 + D, C4
+ D Poultry Fat High High High High Low B2 + D, B3 + D, B4 + D
Crude Soybean/Canola Oil Low Low Low Low Low A1 + F, B1 + F Used
Cooking Oil High Low High Low Low B2 + D, B3 + D, B4 + D, C2 + D,
C3 + D, C4 + D Pennycress/Algae/Other High/Low High/Low High Low
High/Low A1 + D, B1 + D, B2 + D, B3 + D, B4 + D Fatty Acid
Distillate High Low High High Low C3 + F, C3 + D
Example 2
Acid Esterified Corn Oil Biodiesel with and without Distillation
Purification
[0074] Corn oil from a grain ethanol process was converted into
commercially acceptable biodiesel using an acid esterification FFA
refining process coupled with cold filtration and distillation
biodiesel refining steps. Two samples of corn oil biodiesel were
obtained: one immediately after cold filtration using diatomaceous
earth (DE) and a second after both cold filtration and distillation
to compare the effects. The crude corn oil feedstock was acid
esterified with methanol using homogeneous sulfuric acid
(H.sub.2SO.sub.4) catalyst to convert free fatty acids to methyl
esters. The strong acid used during esterification was neutralized
with sodium hydroxide (NaOH) before a water wash. Once the
feedstock was dried it was sent to a base-catalyzed
transesterification process. After being separated from the
glycerin and removing the methanol and water, the dried biodiesel
was subjected to purification by cold filtration or distillation in
a wiped-film evaporator. The physical and chemical properties of
the dried biodiesel before and after distillation are provided in
Table 4 below. Cold filtration of the dried biodiesel using DE
produces biodiesel with acceptable Cold Soak Filtration Time, Acid
Number, Sulfur, and Monoglycerides according to ASTM D6751.
However, distillation of the cold filtered, dried biodiesel clearly
reduces the wax content (as indicated by Turbidity), Acid Number
(and number of inflection points), and Gardner Color (a
yellow-to-red color scale) which are particularly problematic
properties for corn oil biodiesel. Therefore, a combination of
esterification of free fatty acids (FFA) and biodiesel distillation
can be used to produce purified corn oil biodiesel that meets more
stringent commercial biodiesel specifications than a combination of
FFA esterification and cold filtration.
TABLE-US-00004 TABLE 4 Properties of Acid Esterified Corn Oil
Biodiesel with Cold Filtration and Distillation Esterified Corn Oil
Biodiesel Cold Cold Filtered & Properties Filtered Distilled
Wax Reduction (Indirect Methods): Cold Soak Filtration Time [ASTM
D7501] (s) 96 -- Turbidity (Nephelometric Turbidity Unit or NTU)
22.3 1.4 Acid Number per ASTM D664 Method B 0.453 0.298 (mg KOH/g)
Number of Inflection points 2 1 Nitrogen (ppm) 14.5 4.8 Sulfur
(ppm) 6.0 3.0 Monoglycerides (wt %) 0.49 0.53 Diglycerides (wt %)
0.06 <0.005 Triglycerides (wt %) <0.005 <0.005 Color:
Gardner Color (ASTM D1544) 15 9 Resemblance to Dyed Diesel yes
no
Example 3
FFA Stripped Corn Oil Biodiesel with and without Distillation
Purification Compared to Filtration
[0075] Corn oil from a grain ethanol process was converted into
biodiesel using an FFA stripping process for FFA refining followed
by transesterification of the stripped feedstock and two
purification techniques: room temperature filtration using a
single-layer paper filter and distillation. A sample of dried corn
oil biodiesel was obtained before and after the biodiesel refining
units to compare the effectiveness of each method in conjunction
with the FFA refining approach. The crude corn oil feedstock was
stripped of FFA before entering a base-catalyzed
transesterification process. After being separated from the
glycerin and removing the methanol and water, the dried biodiesel
was subjected to purification by either a filtration step or
distillation in a wiped-film evaporator. The physical and chemical
properties of the biodiesel before and after purification by
filtration or distillation are provided in Table 5 below. The
filtration and distillation processes both improve the biodiesel
quality compared to unpurified dried biodiesel. However, the effect
of distillation is more pronounced than filtration especially in
terms of relative wax reduction (as indicated by the Cold Soak
Filtration time and Turbidity), Acid Number, unsaponifiables,
nitrogen, sulfur, di- and triglycerides, and color. Although
distillation was able to reduce the number of inflection points and
overall Acid Number, the high initial Acid Number of the unpurified
dried corn oil biodiesel used in this trial indicates the
importance of having both FFA refining and biodiesel refining. In
this laboratory example, the FFA refining process was not optimized
and was therefore not able to sufficiently remove sufficient FFAs
to produce biodiesel that meet the ASTM D6751 specification for
Acid Number.
TABLE-US-00005 TABLE 5 Properties of Stripped Corn Oil Biodiesel
with Filtration or Distillation Stripped Corn Oil Biodiesel
Properties Unpurified Filtered Distilled Wax Reduction (Indirect
Methods): Cold Soak Filtration Time 720.sup.a 720.sup.b 176 [ASTM
D7501] (s) Turbidity (Nephelometric Turbidity 84.0 29.0 1.3 Unit or
NTU) Acid Number per ASTM D664 1.021 0.955 0.908 Method B (mg
KOH/g) Number of Inflection points 2 2 1 Unsaponifiables (wt %)
.sup. 0.77% .sup. 0.97% 0.27% Nitrogen (ppm) 23.1 21.5 6.7 Sulfur
(ppm) 6.7 6.5 3.7 Monoglycerides (wt %) 0.62 0.61 0.64 Diglycerides
(wt %) 0.09 0.10 <0.005 Triglycerides (wt %) 0.04 0.04 <0.005
Color: Gardner Color (ASTM D1544) 11 11 5 Resemblance to Dyed
Diesel yes yes no .sup.a150 mL out of 300 mL remaining after 720 s
.sup.b120 mL out of 300 mL remaining after 720 s
Example 4
FFA Stripped Used Cooking Oil Biodiesel with and without
Distillation Purification Compared to Cold Filtration
[0076] A mixture of used cooking oil (UCO) and poultry fat was
converted into commercially acceptable biodiesel using an FFA
stripping FFA refining process followed by transesterification and
two biodiesel refining techniques: cold filtration using DE and
distillation. A sample of biodiesel was obtained before cold
filtration and distillation to compare the effectiveness of each
method. The biodiesel feedstock mixture was stripped of FFA before
entering a base-catalyzed transesterification process. After being
separated from the glycerin and removing the methanol and water,
the dried biodiesel was subjected to purification by either a
cold-filtration step using DE or distillation in a wiped-film
evaporator. The physical and chemical properties of the biodiesel
before and after purification by cold-filtration or distillation
are provided in Table 6 below. The filtration and distillation
processes both improve the biodiesel quality compared to unpurified
dried biodiesel, particularly with respect to cold soak
filterability and sulfur. However, the effect of distillation is
more pronounced than cold filtration especially in terms of
removing color compounds and lowering Acid Number, Cold Soak
Filtration time, nitrogen and sulfur.
TABLE-US-00006 TABLE 6 Properties of Stripped Used Cooking Oil
& Poultry Fat Biodiesel with Cold Filtration or Distillation
Stripped UCO/Poultry Fat Biodiesel Properties Unpurified Cold
Filtered Distilled Wax Reduction (Indirect Methods): Cold Soak
Filtration Time 720.sup.a 100 78 [ASTM D7501] (s) Turbidity
(Nephelometric Turbidity 5.6 3.2 0.5 Unit or NTU) Acid Number per
ASTM D664 0.353 0.346 0.287 Method B (mg KOH/g) Number of
Inflection points 1 1 1 Unsaponifiables (wt %) .sup. 0.45% 0.36%
0.36% Nitrogen (ppm) 51.3 54.4 24.4 Sulfur (ppm) 12.4 9.4 8.4
Monoglycerides (wt %) 0.29 0.30 0.30 Diglycerides (wt %) 0.09 0.08
<0.005 Triglycerides (wt %) <0.005 0.00 <0.005 Color:
Petroleum Products 4 4 0.5 (ASTM D1500) Resemblance to Dyed Diesel
no no no .sup.a125 mL out of 300 mL remaining after 720 s
[0077] As a result of the high degree of variability in the
identity and quantity of impurities found in feedstocks for
biodiesel, particularly low-cost crude feedstocks, a number of
process steps as disclosed in the embodiments of the invention may
be employed as disclosed herein to convert highly impure feedstock
into high quality and fully acceptable biodiesel. These various
embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable one of
ordinary skill in the art to practice the invention, and it is to
be understood that modifications to the various disclosed
embodiments may be made by a skilled artisan.
[0078] Where methods and steps described above indicate certain
events occurring in certain order, those of ordinary skill in the
art will recognize that the ordering of certain steps may be
modified and that such modifications are in accordance with the
principles of the invention. Additionally, certain steps may be
performed concurrently in a parallel process when possible, as well
as performed sequentially.
[0079] All publications, patents, and patent applications cited in
this specification are herein incorporated by reference in their
entirety as if each publication, patent, or patent application were
specifically and individually put forth herein.
[0080] The embodiments, variations, and figures described above
provide an indication of the utility and versatility of the present
invention. Other embodiments that do not provide all of the
features and advantages set forth herein may also be utilized,
without departing from the spirit and scope of the present
invention. Such modifications and variations are considered to be
within the scope of the principles of the invention defined by the
claims.
* * * * *